Marcia, Marcia, Marcia…

Everyone loves baseball. Well, in the U.S. they do. The rest of the world pretty much sees baseball as the Jan Brady of the sports world. Sure, baseball is cool and fun, but it's no Marcia…and it's definitely no soccer.

So you'd think that colleges would be all over this sport as a major part of their athletic programs, and they are…just not in the same way as they are with basketball or football.

NCAA baseball has only recently risen to prominence, and even now, it lags behind the sexier sports that have special things going for them, like Bowl trophies and March Madness (source). Some of that has to do with baseball's minor league system, which is much more extensive than other sports and doesn't depend on colleges much for recruits.

It also has to do with the clash between the school year and the baseball year. The diamond doesn't see much action when the autumn leaves start falling. Also, winter in the northern parts of the country can be a big killjoy when it comes to spending a few innings out in the fresh air.

Go white speck #5!

Suffice it to say that NCAA ball players are probably doing it for the love, not the fame. But that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of great programs out there, or that they don't need top-notch players. You'll find most of the best ones in the South, the Southwest, and West Coast, where the sun shines a little brighter and the winters are a lot less brutal (source).

These schools saw an advantage in pushing baseball as a major college sport, and starting in the early 1980s, they took an aggressive approach to bringing the maximum amount of awesome to their programs. Today, they're reaping the rewards by being kings of the NCAA hill (or at least the pitcher's mound) as those big schools back East scramble to catch up.

Now comes the hard part: How do you get into those programs? Well, chances are, you're going to have to start early.

You soared in Little League, you kicked all kinds of butt in high school, and you have the stats to prove it. But it takes more than just making the varsity squad. You need some kind of significant achievement that represents career-wide excellence: All-Area, All-County, or All-State stats, with the developmental abilities to boot.

Pitchers want an ERA of under 2.00 (source). Mid- or outfielders should be able to cover sixty yards in under 6.8 seconds, and every fielder should have an on-base percentage of at least .500 (source).

So yeah, that's going to take a lot of hard work. If you think you've got it made in the shade just because you're the star of your team, think again. High school super-studs might just end up on the sidelines in college if they can't maintain their stats.

That means practice. Lots and lots of practice.

You need to spend all of your spare time working in the batting cage, hitting the weight room, and soaking in as much of that tasty, tasty knowledge your coaches are dishing out. NCAA baseball recruiters love a self-motivator, and they want to see your work ethic reflected on the field.

Yep. It's exhausting. And to top it all off, you need to do it while still keeping those grades up. We're pretty sure successful NCAA athletes are secretly superheroes.

Division-I NCAA baseball programs only offer the equivalent of 11.7 full scholarships per team, which they can distribute amongst their players as they see fit. At the D-II level, that number is only 9, while NAIA programs offer the equivalent of 12. Junior colleges can offer up to 24, but often times, the actual number will be much lower. D-III programs don't offer athletic scholarships, but usually provide other forms of financial assistance (source).

It's one thing to land a scholarship, but it's a whole different ballgame to keep one. Holding onto one of those bad boys means hitting the books as hard as you hit the baseball. Our advice? Take serious courses in high school (and sorry, Underwater Basket Weaving isn't one of them). Also, keep a GPA of at least 2.3 (preferably higher)…all while you're crushing it out on the field.

Steve here is a pacifist and doesn't like to hit books.

Sounds like the worst of both worlds, doesn't it? All that hard work, and you don't even get your face on ESPN? What's up with that?

It's true that fame and glory may elude you in college ball. But that makes baseball a little purer than higher profile sports in the NCAA. People aren't playing it to be famous or even to get a pro career out of it. They just love the sport. And the good news is that you probably have all the tools you need to keep that level of dedication.

Almost every community has a baseball field tucked away in the neighborhood somewhere, and if you fancy yourself some batting practices, all you need is a roll of quarters and Google Maps directions to the nearest Boomers. You might even find that the practice reinforces your study habits and vice versa.

Think you have what it takes? Are you unsure but want to give it a go anyway? Hate baseball with a fiery passion and have no idea why you're reading this? Well, we can't really help you with that last one, you should probably leave. Go on, scat. Anyway, if the first two questions apply to you, start by familiarizing yourself with the NCAA rules and the ways they may differ from your Little League or high school league. (Those aluminum bats take some getting used to.)

Then, take a long, hard look in the mirror—and your stats sheet—and ask yourself if you really have what it takes to lift it to the next level. If you do, then welcome to the NCAA…now get ready for the real work to begin.